Gabby Grissom
by CSISaraSidle72
Summary: Sorry, I will try and change name later.  Gabby Grissom, the daughter of GSR, is nine, smart, adorable...and sick.  Meet her and her parents, and see how they adjust to this new change in their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle are married, and here's the low-down on how this story will go.

Warrick did die. Sorry, but he did. As far as the staff goes, however, I'm keeping it old school, so the staff maintains of Grissom, Sara, Catherine, Greg, Nick, Jim Brass, David, Doc Robbins, Hodges and Ecklie.

Now to GSRs story. They were married in 2010, and both moved back to Las Vegas. Sara works at the crime lab and Gil is a professor at ULV. They welcomed a little girl in April of 2011, whom they named Gabrielle Elizabeth Grissom, "Gabby" or "Izzie" for short. She's now nine, so it's 2020. She's like her parents, but she's also precocious and mischievous, always playing some kind of prank or gaggle on the team when she can. However, lately, she hasn't been herself. She's not been feeling well, but hasn't let on to anyone about it. When the story starts, Sara is beginning to discover what's ailing her baby girl, and it's not good...not by a long shot.

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Sara was unsure of what to do as she sat at the edge of Gabby's bed, taking her temperature. When she pulled the thermometer out, her eyes went wide with alarm. 102 degrees. She set it to the side and felt Gabby's forehead with the back of her hand. Gabby was resting peacefully, for now. On closer inspection, Sara noticed deep dark, angry bruises all over Gabby's arms. Lifting up her butterfly nightshirt, Sara saw some running the course of her stomach. How long had this been going on, and her and Gil had been clueless? Quietly, she stole from the room. She went to the closest room, her and Gil's, and picked up the phone, dialing from memory Gil's cell phone number.

He didn't answer.

Sara glanced at the nearby clock on their bedside table. 9:30. Of course...he was in one of his lectures. Shaking her head, she hung up the receiver, pondering a moment. Gil had the only car at the moment, as hers was in the shop. Instinctively, she dialed another number and waited. She thought about hanging up, but then there was an answer along with a very groggy voice.

"Hello?"

Sara sighed with relief. She took the receiver with her as she walked out into the hall and glanced into Gabby's room. Gabby was still in bed, but was awake, moving around and moaning in pain. Sara cleared her throat. "Catherine...it's Sara. I need your help."

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked, not seeming so sleepy anymore.

"Gabby's sick...fever...huge bruises..." Sara sighed, shaking her head as if clearing it. "I know it's serious. I'm pretty sure that it's...it's..."

"Cancer," Catherine whispered, sighing. The symptoms were classic, and Gabby hadn't been acting like herself lately. How they all hadn't seen it earlier mystified her. "I'll be right over, Sara." They hung up, and Sara walked into Gabby's room, where she was trying to sit up in bed. She was a beautiful child, with a mass of dark ringlets that fell past her shoulders, but her beautiful face was all too pale and scrunched in pain.

"Mommy," Gabby whispered. "I don't feel so good."

Sara sat on the edge of the bed, taking her daughter's hand into hers and caressing it.

"I know you don't, ladybug," Sara replied. "That's why I've called auntie Catherine, and she's going to take us to the hospital."

Gabby wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Do we have to? Maybe I just need some over-the-counter medicine," she offered, trying to not show that she was fearful of the big community hospital where they lived.

"Gabby, there's no other choice," Sara said, trying to reassure her daughter.

"But I'm missing school," Gabby said, disappointed. "And I can't fall behind. I just can't, mommy." She was trying to plead, and Sara understood her disdain, but Sara just couldn't allow her to go while she was almost positive that she knew what was wrong with her.

Even Gabby understood the seriousness of it, but it was also serious for her to miss school. Being nine and born in the month of April, she should only have started the third grade this year. But being the product of her parents, Gil and Sara Grissom, she just started sixth grade in August and was doing remarkably well. She had perfect attendence, up until now, that is, and couldn't face having to miss even one day of school, as she loved and enjoyed it so much.

Sara was trying to help Gabby in anyway she could, but just couldn't find the words to comfort her. "I'll get your work," she tried, and as Gabby's face relaxed, Sara knew it seemed to help. "I'll bring it by the hospital, but you know as well as I do that this is not negotiable. Your sick, and we have to take you in if you want to get better."

Gabby was silent, but finally nodded, knowing her mother was right. If her mother didn't love her, she wouldn't press this so much. They were a lot alike, Sara and Gabby. Stubborn and bull-headed in their own ways.

"Will you call daddy?" Gabby asked after a moment, tears brimming in her eyes. She'd feel safe with both her parents with her while she was there.

"I tried, but when we get there, I'll see if Catherine can go and get him," Sara said, flipping Gabby's dark brown hair off her shoulders in a gesture of tenderness. She caressed her daughter's cheek, and was rewarded by a soft smile.

"Please have her to," Gabby replied softly. "Please."


	2. Chapter 2

Gilbert Grissom was in a panic, and had been for the last three hours. It was nearing 1:00 when he arrived at Children's Memorial Hospital on the other side of town. He'd been sent there after arriving at the University of Las Vegas Hospital, where Gabby had originally been taken, but found out soon after that Gabby wasn't there. That she'd been sent by ambulance to another hospital "more equipped to deal with her particular medical ailment." Gil had shaken it off, just knowing that it couldn't be true...that Catherine, and even Sara had to be wrong. So he drove across town to where Gabby now was, going right up to the front desk. "My daughter's here...Gabrielle Grissom."

The receptionist was a young woman in her early twenties, and was slow about finding the information, but when she located it, she told him the room number. "Someone will show you where to go..." she said, but before she was finished, Gil was already off to find the nearest elevator.

"412...412..." he repeated to himself as he demanded the elevator to go faster. When the doors slid open to the fourth floor, his worse fears became realized.

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Gil shook his head, thinking it already an odd place. The cartoon characters that were painted on the walls of the corridor seemed unfitting for a horrible place such as this. Gathering his wits again, he quickly found the room. When he went in, he first saw Sara sitting in a chair, right beside of Gabby's bed. Sara was holding Gabby's hand, but Gabby was unconscious. An IV was hooked to the back of her hand, and it's tubing led to an IV stand where a bag of white fluid was hung along with a bag of red fluid. He instantly knew what those bags were for. Saline for dehydration and blood for low blood counts. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the horrible feeling he was having, and went over to Sara and gently touched the back of her shoulder.

Sara's eyes flew open, but when she saw it was Gil, her eyes softened and her body relaxed as she gave him a small smile. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," Gil whispered, smiling back. He went to the table across the room, getting another chair and bringing it over to sit beside Sara. When he was settled, he took Sara's free hand into his, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. He eyed Gabby's still form lying in the hospital bed, one of the bed rails raised, and sighed. He turned his attention back to Sara. "Have they got a clear answer, yet?"

Sara turned her head for a moment, no doubt collecting her emotions, before turning back to Gil. It was then that he saw tears collecting in her eyes. "Her blood counts and platelets were low, so they...they have a good idea." She sniffled, turned away, and then continued. "They did a bone marrow aspiration test, just to be sure. The results should be back any minute now."

Gil could hear the cracking in Sara's voice. Sara, who had once said she didn't have a maternal bone in her body. But everyone who knew her knew that she loved Gabby more than life itself, so he knew this was tearing her up inside. It was tearing him up inside, too. Gabby was his baby girl, the only girl he knew of who loved collecting bugs and learning about the different species of insects. And now...now she was sick.

Gil lifted his hand to Sara's chin, turning it towards him. He saw now that she was crying, and his heart was breaking. But he had to stay strong...for Sara and, for most of all, Gabby.

"We'll get through this, I know we will," Gil assured her. "Gabby's a fighter...you, of all people, know this, Sara. She wouldn't let anything stand in her way."

Sara tried to believe him, but found it hard to. Just then, a white-coated doctor entered. He looked to be in his mid-forties, but seemed older as his dark hair showed speckles of gray in it. He introduced himself as Dr. Maloy, and sat down with the Grissom's.

"As you may be aware, we did have to sedate Gabrielle after the bone marrow aspiration," Dr. Maloy said. "She was in a lot of pain. We're giving her a blood transfusion to bring up her blood counts, so that will make her begin to feel a little bit better."

Gil heard apprehension in the doctor's voice, and just knew that he was holding back on them.

"However," Dr. Maloy finally said. "When we examined the results of the bone marrow aspiration, we did find blasts...leukemic cells...in her bone marrow."

Gil felt Sara's grip tighten as they both awaited for what they knew the doctor was about to say.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Maloy replied. "But Gabrielle has acute lymphocytic leukemia, and if we don't begin treatment soon, she only has a twenty-percent chance of surviving."

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Thanks everyone for reviewing. I'm going to try and update this story as much as I can. I lost all of my other stories, anyways, so this is the only one I have going, right now.

Also Mel1592, I have some sites, but lost them when I ran a recovery on my computer, so I'd appreciate it if you could send me some of the site's that you use. I know quite a bit about leukemia and other cancers, but I always research it so I don't forget anything or mess any information up.

Thanks again, and I hope to have a new chapter up ASAP!

Missy


	3. Chapter 3

Gabby's eyes suddenly shot open, and she looked around the room. Nobody was there. At first, she didn't remember where she was until she was more alert, then the pain in her hip came back and she noticed the IV taped down on the back of her right hand. She grimaced, not in pain but in sadness as the wholeness of the situation at hand washed over her. She wondered if they knew what she had yet. All Gabby knew was that her blood counts were low and that they needed some of her bone marrow to check. She was smart enough to know that they were looking for cancer...she just didn't believe that she had it.

Sitting up in bed, Gabby waited until a slight dizziness passed before she crawled to the end of the bed, as both the bed-rails were raised. She took hold of her IV stand, wheeling it to the door. She peeked out, looking up and down the hallway for her parents, not seeing them. That's when she saw a lonely nurse at the nurse's station, and went to her.

The nurse, looking in her mid-thirties with reddish-brown hair and freckles, bustled about her work in an upbeat manner which caused Gabby to smile. The nurse hummed a tune, making Gabby laughed. That's when the nurse finally saw her small form behind the desk and peaked over, smiling.

"Well, hi there Gabrielle," the nurse said sweetly, but her knowing Gabby's name caught Gabby off guard for a moment.

"You know me?" Gabby asked shyly.

"Well, of course I do," the nurse replied. "I'm Jill, and I'm your nurse during the days. What can I do for you?"

Gabby wondered if Jill meant one day or more than one day, but was too afraid to ask. "Do you know where my mom went to?"

Jill smiled. "You were still sleeping when your father came in. After a while, I told them that they could go and grab a coffee and I'd keep an eye on you. They told me good luck," she said suspiciously, "because they say your somewhat of a troublemaker and like to pull pranks."

Gabby, as bad as she was feeling, tried to act innocent, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her lip.

"So I see," Jill said knowingly, giving her a sly smile. "Well, when I told them I could handle you, they left in good faith. They should be back soon. But...you don't look like a troublemaker much to me."

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Gabby murmured.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing," Gabby said too quickly. She went behind the desk and climbed into a chair, trying not to tangle herself in the mass of IV tubing. "Do they know what's wrong with me, yet?"

Gabby watched Jill's expression turn from happy-go-lucky to apprehension. Gabby could tell that Jill knew, but wasn't at liberty to say. But if Jill knew, she didn't say that much. "The doctor was in to see your parent's earlier. When they come back, I'm sure they'll tell you what the doctor told them. And your doctor, Dr. Maloy, will be back to see you around five."

Gabby found that suspicious. Usually, you were lucky if your doctor dropped in on you once a day, let alone twice. This information startled her, but she did well to hide it.

As if sensing her mood, Jill smiled. "I happen to know, on good authority, that in the activity room, there's a movie playing and some games and arts and crafts going on. I also know that there are some kids in there your age. Would you like me to take you down there?"

Gabby wanted to. She knew it would take her mind off of what was going on. But she looked down the hall, as if worried about her parents coming back and freaking out because she wasn't in her room.

"I'll be coming right back to my desk," Jill said knowingly. "I'll even check your room when I come back, and as soon as I see them, I'll let them know where you are."

Gabby thought about it for a moment. Smiling, she said, "promise?"

Jill smiled back. "Promise."

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The activity room seemed too chaotic for Gabby. She was used to older kids, and didn't know what she'd been thinking when she said she wanted to be around kids "her own age." She was never around kids her own age. Heck, the kids in her class were three- and even four-years older than she was, and she got along with them famously. Why she thought she'd get along with actual nine-year-old's, she'd never know.

Deciding to just take it easy, she decided to go to the corner of the room and read a book, but all the books on that shelf were for babies...books she learned to read when she was still in diapers. She sighed, and went across the room to the older kids section. The books there were still kind of boring, but she decided on a book about the solar system, and was soon engrossed in it. She'd have to tell her parents that if she did have to stay, then they would have to bring her some of her books. She couldn't stand it even a day here if she didn't have good or even decent reading material.

"What're you doing in my spot, shrimp? This isn't the babies section!"

Gabby looked up from the book momentarily. There stood a tall boy of about thirteen, with shaggy blond hair and blue eyes. He would've been cute if his attitude wasn't so horrible. To Gabby, he acted much younger than he looked. "I didn't see a name on this chair." She looked back down at the book, but suddenly wasn't interested. However, she was interested in standing her ground, as her mother always taught her to do.

"Well, everyone knows it's mine, and now you know, too." Gabby shook her head and a moment later, the boy snatched the book away from her. Gabby looked up, trying to bite her tongue from saying something she shouldn't.

"I was reading that," she said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, boo-hoo," the boy said in a whining voice. "You're such a baby, I bet you can't even read."

"I bet I can read you under a table," Gabby shot back. "I bet you're in a lower grade than I am."

"How could I be?" he taunted. "You're a baby. What are you...eight?"

"Nine," Gabby replied defensively. "Are you thirteen, 'cause you sure as heck don't act like it?"

He paused for a moment. "I am."

"What grade?" Gabby asked, trying to be as patient as she possibly could.

He grinned. "Sixth."

"Well, I'm not in a higher grade than you," Gabby replied, waiting as he smiled, which she knew he would. "I'm in the same grade as you."

He frowned quickly. "Liar."

"Am I?"

"Prove it!"

By now, they were standing toe to toe, only Gabby came up in height to about his chest. She was ready to punch him when she felt hands grab her around her waist and lift her up.

They were her father's.

"Dad, let me go," she snarled. "If I do hit him, he deserves it."

"Oh really?" Gil asked her. "And what for?"

"He called me a baby, he said I couldn't read, and he doesn't believe that I'm in the sixth grade," Gabby said as she struggled to free herself from her father's grasp.

The boy on the ground was grinning profusely.

"Well, I'll settle this quickly," Gil said as he surveyed their bookshelf with it's shabby array of a book collection. He turned his attention back on the boy. "I'll keep her away, but just so you know...she can read, she's been reading since she was one, and she just started the sixth grade but by next year, she'll probably be in the eighth grade."

Gabby watched in satisfaction as the boy frowned. Then her father carried her from the activity room.

Back in the safety of her hospital room, Gabby was relieved when her father placed her back in her hospital bed. She was tired. "Thanks daddy."

"Don't thank me, young lady," Gil said in a tone that he rarely used with her. "I don't like being involved in your little nit-picky fights. You should've let it go, and I shouldn't have gotten involved, but there were more pressing issues at hand, and that's the only reason that I told him the truth and didn't wait for more arguments to ensue. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a word and just carried you out of there." Gabby watched as her father sat down, looking haggard. It was then that she realized that her mother wasn't with him. "Where's mommy?"

Gil rubbed his face, feeling worn-out and the day wasn't nearly over yet. "She had to go home and get ready for work. She called Ecklie, but he wouldn't let you mother take a sick day, so she went in, maybe just to show him she was serious about quitting if he didn't give her a break. Anyway, she'll be back in the morning, right after her shift ends."

Gabby frowned, then squirmed in her bed, trying to get comfortable. "So...when do I get to go home?"

Gabby watched as her father's face turned listless to worried. He sighed, shaking his head and taking her hand. He rubbed it gently, not able to look her in the eyes. "Gabby...you don't get to go home yet, sweetie."

Fear seized Gabby. "Why not?" She looked at his face, only for a moment but she swore she saw tears gathering in his eyes.

And that was when her father confirmed what her heart already knew. "You have leukemia, Gabby. You're going to be here for a while."


	4. Chapter 4

Treatment started almost immediately for Gabby's leukemia. When Dr. Maloy returned at five that evening, he wrote the orders for her treatment and sent for it to be filled. While waiting, he explained everything to Gabby and her father. Her father listened intently, but Gabby felt detached, as if she were watching a movie about a character with cancer instead of actually living it, herself.

Dr. Maloy presented her and her father with a list of all of her medicines, and their side effects. She'd lose her appetite, her hair, her body weight, and her development would be delayed because of the combinations of all the drugs. She shook her head, not fully grasping the situation in its entirety.

When ready, Gabby was sent down to the chemo room in a wheelchair, with a nameless orderly pushing her. Her dad wasn't allowed to come with her, so he went for coffee. She thought it barbaric that she had to go through this alone, and wondered if they treated three-year-old's with cancer in exactly the same way.

When they arrived at the chemo room, Gabby's eyes were wide in awe. The chemo room looked different than what she expected. She thought she'd be in a torture room, painted black or something where they had to strap you down to even give you the medicine. Instead, she saw contour chairs, almost like the one's at her dentist, with IV stands beside each. The room was painted a soft yellow. A desk sat in one corner of the room where a nurse sat, busily working. The other side had a toy box. More bookshelves were in here than in the activity room. Gabby smiled, asking the orderly to stop for a moment. She found a couple of science books...one a text book and the other a guide to different insects and bugs...and sat them in her lap. She was wheeled to one of the free chairs, where she stood up and merely changed places. The orderly promised to be back in two hours, and that part was mind boggling to Gabby. Two hours! She hadn't planned on being here two minutes, much less two hours. But she sighed and nodded. Then the nurse came over, animatedly chatting as she read Gabby's chart. She flipped the plastic bag that contained Gabby's prescribed dosage of chemo medication, and inserted the IV into the one that was already taped down on her hand. "Are you comfy?" the nurse, Lydia, finally asked.

Gabby meekly nodded her head, watching as the medicine seeped slowly into her veins. Two hours...she still couldn't believe it. And it seemed simple enough. Just sit there and receive the medicine. But she did wonder why they were giving her the IV first instead of the chemo capsules. She read enough books about cancer over the years to know that usually they gave pills first, then IVs. Then she got worried. In extreme cases, they would give the patient the IV drugs at first to get the medicine into their system, and she wondered how extreme and bad off her case actually was. She tried to shake off the feeling, knowing it would do her no good to worry, and instead took out a small notebook and wrote down her thoughts, that way she could remember to ask her doctor about it, later.

By the time the two hours were up, Gabby couldn't even sit up straight. They had to bring in a gurney to wheel her up to her room. By the time she arrived, she was vomiting into a basin so hard that she thought her stomach would explode. As soon as she was in her bed, her dad rushed to her aide, taking a damp cloth to her forehead and whispering soothing words. He sat down on the gurney with her, and was telling her silly bug jokes that took her mind right off her problems. In no time, she was asleep.

Gabby awoke with a start a few hours later. Outside, it was dark, but she had no concept of time. All she knew was that something had awaken her. She struggled to a sitting position, looking around. Her father was in a recliner chair beside her bed, curled in an unnatural position. She smiled to herself, and wondered with his insomnia what the nurses had given him so that he could sleep.

Another glance around the room, and she found what she was looking for. It wasn't a "what" that had awaken her, but a "who." A curtain partition was in her room, she knew, but no other gurney had been there when she arrived earlier. Now, there was and in it was a young girl. As quietly as she could, she crawled out of bed and rolled her IV stand over to the curtain, pulling it back a peak. A girl, not much older than Gabby, was curled in a fetal position on the bed. She had white-blond hair, as far as Gabby could tell, and was crying as hard as she could. Gabby softly cleared her throat, and the girl jumped up.

"Who are you?" the girl snapped.

Gabby was slightly taken aback. So far that day, that was the second person who'd been rude to her. But she pushed her annoyance aside. Gabby knew she would've been rude, too, if she wasn't still in denial.

"I'm Gabby Grissom," she whispered, walking ever-so softly towards the bed. "Who're you?"

The girl was slightly taken aback herself, and in turn, smiled as a gesture of apology towards Gabby. "I'm Piper Lampkin. I-I'm sorry for being rude, it's just...you startled me."

"No problem," Gabby said. "Forget about it."

The two girls smiled at one another, and Piper beckoned for Gabby to come closer. Gabby obliged, and soon found herself sitting on Piper's bed, trying her best, again, not to get tangled amongst all the IV tubing and wires and such.

"Do you have leukemia, too?" Piper finally asked in a soft voice that almost held a hint of an accent. She wasn't from around Vegas, but where if she was at that particular hospital?

"Yes," Gabby whispered with a sad nod of her head. She looked to the floor. "Not to pry, but where are your parents?"

Now it was Piper's turn to look sad. Tears brimmed in her eyes, yet none fell. "We just moved to Vegas from Kentucky. My father got a promotion," she said proudly. "Well, we were just visiting Clark County...we live two hours away...and then I got sick." She seemed sad, almost ashamed over the information. "Anyways, after my doctor found out what was wrong and admitted me, my parents had to leave. They promised to be back here this weekend, but..." her voice trailed off and she sniffled. Gabby reached over and patted her hand, not understanding how parents could leave a sick child in the hospital, all alone, without either one of them.

"Why couldn't they stay with you?" Gabby asked, bewildered.

"Because they had to take care of my brothers and sisters," Piper said, confused, almost as if being an only child was abnormal.

"Oh," Gabby simply stated, embarrassed that she was an only child. She didn't divulge that information to Piper. "How many siblings do you have?"

Piper smiled. "I have an older brother, Michael, but he's only fourteen, so he can't stay there alone to watch all the others. Then there's Kathy...she's twelve going on forty. I'm nine. Brett's seven. And Lucy's five."

Gabby's eyes were wide, but she quickly hid her surprise by a small smile. She always wondered about big families, and now she knew someone in one. Not to say that she'd never wanted a sibling. She had. But only one, and not a whole slew of them. But Gabby still didn't feel that she could divulge that she was an only child, so she changed the subject instead. She saw that Piper, too, had an IV, and asked, "are you through with testing?"

"Yea," Piper said with a disgusted look on her face. "Thank heavens."

Gabby giggled. "I had IV chemo today. When do you start?"

"I actually took some pills earlier." Piper's face had an even worse expression on it. "It tasted horrible. This," she gestured to her IV, "is saline, pain medicine, and some kind of slow dripping sleep medicine. They should've just given me a pill for that, too."

Gabby nodded knowingly, pointing to her IV apparatus. "I've got all the same, only I have blood, as well. And no chemo pills, though I wish I had."

"Why?" Piper asked in bewilderment.

"Because IV chemo takes too long and then you get twice as sick afterward," Gabby replied, then quickly added, "or so I'm told."

Piper giggled, and their friendship began as the two girls stayed up half into the night, telling jokes and swapping stories, bonding over their now-shared experience with having cancer.

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The next morning, Gabby felt none too better than she had last night. In fact, she actually felt worse. She quickly sat up and began heaving into her now-clean basin, trying to get up as much as she could before breakfast trays were to arrive. In her state, she didn't think she could keep anything down, but she knew she had to try.

She heard the toilet flush, thinking for a moment that it was Piper until she saw the small form on the bed, tossing and turning. When the restroom door opened, her mother emerged, a small and encouraging smile on her face. "Hi my ladybug."

"Hi mommy," Gabby said brightly, throwing her arms around her mother. After a couple of moments, her mother washed out her basin and brought it back, sitting with her daughter on the edge of her hospital bed.

"So, you're father tells me you were up half the night," her mother said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"How'd he know?" Gabby asked, taken aback in surprise.

Sara laughed. "You didn't really think he'd sleep too long, now did you?"

Gabby smiled sheepishly. "No, I...I guess not."

Sara grinned at her daughter, smoothing her hair off her now damp and papery thin forehead. "You feeling okay?"

Gabby shrugged. "About as good as this poison will let me feel, I guess. I can still talk, at least."

"That's true, Miss Gabby, you can," her mother said, and after a thoughtful moment, replied, "you're being so brave, you know that?"

Gabby shrugged, being modest at her mother's show of affection. "I'm no braver than I was before this, and I'll be no braver after it's over."

Sara thought, then shook her head. "Nope, I don't believe that. You are more brave than yesterday, and you'll be braver than this tomorrow. Just you wait and see."

Gabby couldn't dispute her mother's wisdom and logic, so she merely nodded her head.

After she took a shower, Gabby sat on her bed and received a breakfast tray and morning medications, to which she scrunched her nose at both.

"Yuck," she exclaimed.

"But think of all the good they'll do for you," Jill said sweetly, being as encouraging as she could. Gabby could think of nothing she'd rather do less, but in the end she took her medicine and at the disgusting hospital food...which didn't stay down for long.

Later, Gabby, Sara and Piper played a couple of rounds of rummy, then both girls laid down to rest for a little bit. In the afternoon brought friends, Gabby's aunt and uncles, from the crime lab, who all worked the same shift as her mother, who'd be going to work soon, and her father would be coming back. She sighed, wishing they could both be here at the same time, but that wouldn't happen unless they actually quit their jobs and they wouldn't...couldn't do that. Gabby knew that much for sure.

"Hi squirt," Nick said, ruffling her hair. With him, he had a teddy bear dressed in an outfit that had bugs all over it.

Gabby smiled, taking the offered bear. "Thanks uncle Nicky."

Catherine gave her a more girly teddy bear, that she didn't really like but said she did. Greg gave her a game that dealt with bugs and a college science textbook.

"At least someone's finally read my mind," Gabby said with a grin as she thumbed through the text.

Gabby introduced Piper to all of her uncles and aunt, and Piper was acting shy. Then she got up the nerve to ask them all what their jobs were.

Sara's eyes went wide as she looked to the others, but it was Gabby who spoke up. "They investigate crime scenes and dead bodies." Sara clamped her hand over Gabby's mouth, but Piper was grinning. "Cool," Piper replied.

Everyone soon left for work, and Piper and Gabby lay down in their respective beds to rest. Gabby wasn't feeling too well at all, and hadn't even had her chemo yet. She was freezing and couldn't get herself to stay warm. The last thing she remembered was the sound of the trays rattling down the hall, and then she was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Gabby and Piper were up early. Gabby wasn't due for another chemo treatment until that afternoon, so the two girls were playing cards while Gabby's father, Gil, sat in his chair, reading one of his bug books.

That was when Dr. Maloy came in. Dr. Maloy was taking care of both Gabby and Piper's cases, and sat down with the two girls, calling Gil over.

Dr. Maloy went right into what he needed to say, without preamble. "Tomorrow Gabby, you're going to have surgery. Piper's will be the day after." Both girls' eyes went wide. Surgery? They didn't know they had to have surgery! "While Piper hasn't started IV chemo yet, she will soon. Gabby, I'm particularly worried about yours because I understand that during medications, they've had to flush out your IV line quite a few times."

Gabby shrugged sheepishly. "They said the line kept getting clogged up."

"Well, a catheter will need flushing, too, but I also understand that you've already had three IV lines put in," Dr. Maloy stated, flipping through Gabby's chart. Gabby nodded meekly, staring down at her right hand, which was now bruised, her left hand, also blotchy and bruised, and her right arm, which now held an IV line in place, but was also becoming blotchy and bruised.

"A catheter will give us instant access to your medicine line, so you won't have to be poked and prodded all the time," Dr. Maloy explained. "Also, even if you don't achieve remission but are well enough to go home, an IV can be taken out and inserted much easier by your parents, if need be."

Gabby nodded, looking sideways at her father, who was taking it all in. Her father was a doctor, but not this kind of doctor. She knew, however, that he knew how to take care of IV lines and such, because he had studied it in school...even if it'd been decades before, she didn't suspect this was the type of thing a person would forget.

The doctor allowed everything to sink in, but it was Piper who soon spoke up. "What about me? My parents aren't here. Will I get to go home, as well?"

Dr. Maloy's face fell, and took on the qualities of a sullen mask. "You will have the surgery, but with where your family's living now, it wouldn't be feasible for you to go home until you achieve remission. As it is, there's no hospital in your county that specializes in treating cancer in children, and I have qualms about sending you home even after you achieve remission, because you'll still have to come here for clinic visits, and it's a long drive from your home town."

Piper looked ready to cry, but held everything back. "So...how can I be released?"

Dr. Maloy looked in thought, his face scrunched up for a moment. "The only way I could release you on a clear conscience is if your family moves here, if you have relatives here, or if you had a temporary placement into another home, almost like a foster family that would take over your care for the time being."

Piper's face fell as she realized she'd be stuck in the hospital, for God knows how long!

Dr. Maloy left, promising to be back later with also giving instructions to Gabby and the nurses for Gabby not to have anything by mouth after 9:00pm that night. Piper felt depressed, so she asked to be left alone while Gabby's father left and her mother came in. Gabby just had to figure out what she could do to cheer her new best friend up. She had to try something!

After chemo treatment, Gabby slept. When she awoke, her mother was there. Gabby wondered how long she slept. She didn't want to sleep the whole time her mother was here, because then her mother would have to leave again.

"Hi mom," Gabby said weakly. Sara put down the book she was reading, smiling at Gabby. "I was wondering when sleeping beauty was going to wake."

"I-I just had to sleep a bit," Gabby replied. She tried to find the clock in the room, but when she did, she couldn't focus on it. "What time is it?"

Sara looked at her watch. "Almost seven. Your father should be getting in soon."

Gabby's eyes were wide. Her mother had been working the swing shift for a while, now, and was always at work at 4:00. Sara, seeing her daughter's face, smiled. "I told Ecklie off."

"You did?" Gabby asked in surprise. She didn't know about her mother and Ecklie's history, but as long as Gabby had been around, her mother never got angry or cross at him. She did behind his back, however, but he didn't need to know that.

"Yep," Sara said, smiling. "I told him my daughter was more important than any job, and now she needs me more than ever. I gave in for a little while, but finally went up to him and told him that if he couldn't give me a leave, that I was going to quit."

"Did you quit?" Gabby asked, worried. She didn't want her mother to lose a job she loved just over her.

"No sweetie," Sara said, touching her daughter's chin, tickling her. "He gave me a paid sick leave, for all the time that I haven't taken off. He told me when you felt better, I could return, and he wouldn't bother me until then."

Gabby smiled, throwing her arms around her mother. She was so happy...at least now one of her parents could be with her, full time.

As Sara pulled back, she instinctively touched her daughter's hair. When she did, a huge hunk of it fell out into Sara's hand. Gabby felt embarrassed but felt even worse as she saw the look of sadness and fear on her mother's face. Gabby quickly swallowed her fear. "I-It's okay, mommy. It's only hair...it does grow back."

Sara hugged her daughter, again, holding her tightly, as if letting her go would make this nightmare even more real than it already was.

Sara was no stylist, that much was for sure. When Gabby's hair started falling out, she called Catherine. Catherine was just milling around at home, having the night off when she came in, knowing the situation by Sara's tone of voice. After filtering through Gabby's hair, however, she found it a loss cause to try and save any. Every time she touched and lock of hair, it fell right out. She stood back, examining the work that needed to be done, and settled on something that would help for the time being, yet maybe make Gabby fell a little less self-conscious.

Catherine opened a bag that contained hats and scarves galore. Catherine offered her opinion of the more frilly type, girly ones, but Gabby opted for a scarf that was green and had ladybugs and butterflies on it and two hats, one red and one purple. Catherine nodded in understanding as she sat next to the young girl.

"Tell you what," Catherine said, rubbing Gabby's shoulder. "If you do okay for your surgery tomorrow, then when you wake up I promise that you'll have a big surprise waiting for you."

"Really?" Gabby asked, wondering what it could be. She hoped it didn't involve anything girly, though.

"I promise."

Later that night, Gabby couldn't sleep. Her mother was nowhere to be found, at the moment, and her father had gone home to bring some stuff to the hospital for himself and Gabby's mommy. Gabby got out of bed and tiptoed to Piper's side. She was sound asleep. Gabby knew that her surgery would come early enough, but felt she just had to do something first before she could go to sleep in peace. She went to the desk, turned on the lamp and began furiously writing a note. When she was done she placed it in an envelope, put her mother and father's name on it, and placed it in her bedside drawer. She laid back down and in no time, she fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Gabby was taken to surgery. Sara waited for Gil to come back, so they could go and check to see how she was doing. They gave her some medicine and rolled her away on a gurney, leaving hers now jumbled and empty. Sara sighed. Waiting could be so tedious...waiting for news about her little girl was out-and-out murderous to her.

She fiddled around, trying to clean anything up to keep her busy, when she found a note in Gabby's bedside drawer addressed to her and Gil, in Gabby's distinctive cursive writing. Intrigued she opened it, promising herself to show it to Gil when he got there, and read. It said:

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_ I couldn't sleep. I kept worrying about the surgery. I'm sure I'll be okay, but I've never been one for hospitals. Anyways, if I'm not okay, there's something I have to tell you all first before I go in._

_ First off, I love you two more than life itself. If I do die today, it's with the feeling and knowledge that I had the best, most intelligent, capable and loving parents that God could give me (Mom, I know you have issues with God, but since my diagnosis, I've realized that he has to be real...I don't know how I know, but he just is)._

_ Piper has also become the best and most loyal friend ever, and has been rather depressed that she can't be released from the hospital. If I live or if something happens, either way, I want to see if you two can take care of her until she is well enough to return to her home. Dr. Maloy can explain more, but it seemed to me almost like a foster family, which I know you know all about, mom. Please see if you two can help her out. I'd hate to see her stuck here, if she doesn't need to be._

_ I hope my surgery goes well. I'm sure it will. But if it doesn't, please help Piper and please know that I love you both with all my heart and that, no matter what, I'll always be with you._

_ Forever and always, your daughter,_

_ Gabby_

Sara sunk into a chair, tears streaming down her face. She didn't cry often, but she was crying now. For Gabby, for Piper, for all the children who had cancer, and for herself and Gil, that they may know their daughter for as long as they shall live.

And she did something that morning that she hadn't done since she was five-years-old. She bowed her head, and, clutching her daughter's letter, she prayed silently to God, that her daughter would live to see another day.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: This is a short chapter, but it needs to be as it is from Gabby's point-of-view after her surgery. And sorry that I haven't updated for a few days, but I was in a theatre production at my local college. We're finished with it, now, but for the next few days I'll be busy, so I'll update whenever I can. I'm also going to be continuing all of my older fics, as soon as I can sort through them and figure out what needs to be done. I also may have a new fic in the works, but I have to see how the other ones go before I decide if I want to post the newer one or not. Either way, I will be continuing with "Gabby Grissom" until it's finished, however many chapters that may be ;)

CSICSICSICSI

When Gabby first awoke, she wondered what was going on. Everything around her was disorienting, and she couldn't sort anything out. _What if I'm dead, _she wondered, trying to sit up, but a wave of dizziness and nausea ascended upon her, and she was forced to lie back down. _Well, I guess I'm not dead. _If she were, she wouldn't feel sick like she had been.

It took a few moments, but once she opened her eyes, everything around her became less blurry and came more into focus. And that's when she finally felt pain! Looking at her chest, she saw three tubes protruding out of it, while the site where the incision had been made was bruised and a little swollen. She moaned, and despite her best efforts, began crying while trying to get out of bed. Soon, cool hands pushed her down and another set of hands held a syringe. _Nurses, _she wondered. But they weren't her nurses. Even with their protective gear on, she would've been able to tell, and they weren't from the oncology floor.

The syringe found her IV, and she tried to fight it, but soon she couldn't think or even move, and then she slept.

CSICSICSICSI

When Gabby woke again, it was nighttime, but she felt a little more calmer. She opened her eyes, not wanting to move the rest of her body, and found her parents sleeping in sofa chairs beside of her bed. She looked around...it was her old room, she was sure of it. She saw Piper on the other side, and her partition was open...Gabby guessed that was so that Piper could check on her when she was awake. Gabby smiled, turning over so that she could lie on her back. She stared at the ceiling for a while, feeling better than she had earlier, and wondered to herself...if she could make it through a surgery like that, than she could beat this cancer. The only one awake, and alone with her thoughts, she made a silent plea to herself, and even to God, that no matter what, she wouldn't give up and let this cancer thing beat her. She would fight with all that she had in her, until her final breath.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I'm off today to help babysit my niece and nephew while they go and have their Christmas pictures taken, so I wanted to get a chapter up before I left. And sorry that it's been a few days, but after the show I was in ended, I've been catching up on my sleep. And floors? Not that comfortable to sleep on, LOL.

CSICSICSICSI

When Gabby awoke the next morning, everything seemed blurry. She looked to her right, and a figure came in focus. There, right next to her bed, stood Piper, looking down at her worriedly.

Gabby couldn't help but smile. She tried to suppress it, but she couldn't any longer. "Hey," Gabby whispered.

Piper smiled, breathing in a sigh of relief. "Your okay," she said, her eyes tearing up.

Gabby looked at the young girl in confusion. "What made you think that I wouldn't be okay?"

Piper wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. "Well, you slept all day yesterday, even after your surgery."

Gabby shrugged. "I think that's normal. Plus, I remember once that they gave me some medicine. I don't remember anybody else in the room, though. Just the nurse."

Piper nodded in understanding, then she leaned over the railing. "Can I see it?"

Gabby's mind clouded with confusion for a moment. "See what?"

"The catheter, silly," Piper replied with a small smile, then looked apprehensive. "If I'm going to have to get one, then I might as well get used to the idea. You lived after having it done, so I'm not as worried about _that _part. I just want to see what it looks like."

Gabby nodded, knowing if it was the other way around, that Piper would help her out. She pulled down her hospital gown, wincing in pain. Gabby couldn't see as good, but Piper could see where the incision was made, and where it was red and blotchy and bruised. Gabby then pulled out the three tubes that were connected to veins in her chest to show Piper.

"It's just like the IV's we had, only more and they're not in are arms," Gabby explained. Piper held up her arm, which still had the heparin lock in it, but at the moment was not connected to the IV. She held it next to Gabby's tubes, and sure enough, they looked the same. "Cool," Piper pronounced. "Only, you do have more."

"Yeah," Gabby said with a shrug, then admitted, "I'm not really sure why, though."

That was when Gabby turned her head and looked around the room. Her mother and father weren't in there, and her face crunched up in confusion. Piper saw this, and walked over to the other side of Gabby's gurney, taking her hand. "They went for coffee," Piper said, patting her best friend's hand. "They told me to call then when you woke up. Would you like me to call them?"

Gabby smiled in thoughtfulness, then shook her head. "No. They just need a little break. When they come back, then they can know I'm awake."

With that, then two girls smiled. Piper helped sit Gabby up in her bed and pulled a chair over for her to sit in. Then the two girls played cards and other different games, their lilting laughter filling the oncology floor's hallways."

CSICSICSICSI

Author's Note: Again, sorry it was so short, but I have a reason to end it there, and you will see why in the next chapter. Please review, as my reviews help keep me motivated, and another chapter will be up soon. ~*MISSY*~


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: A huge thank you goes out to all of my reviewers...letting me know how I'm doing really helps with my creativity. I know I've been a little slow getting back to writing my older fics, as well. I've just been kind of tired lately, and the medicine I'm on is screwing up. It's no big deal, but it is making me kind of lazy. I've been trying to keep up with my older and newer fics. Newer is easier, for now, but I'm hoping to have new chapters up for my older ones, very soon.

Anyway, on to the next chapter. And NANCY1, as for your guess...you're a really great guesser.

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><p>Downstairs in the cafeteria, Gil and Sara were sitting with their cups of coffee as Gil read and reread the letter that Sara had given him, but a couple of lines stuck out in his mind, since Gabby had almost fully recovered from her surgery.<p>

"P_iper has also become the best and most loyal friend ever, and has been rather depressed that she can't be released from the hospital...I want to see if you two can take care of her until she is well enough to return to her home_."

Gil finally lay the note on top of the table and took off his glasses, rubbing his forehead. Sara looked at him, worried. He always got the worse migraines in times of major stress. Did this letter finally push him to the brink?

All was silent for a few moments, when Gil finally spoke up. "I'm not saying 'yes' and I'm not saying 'no', but we do need to have a talk with Piper's parents before we can give the girls any hope in this."

Sara slowly smiled to herself as she took her hand and laid it on the table. Gil's hand soon found hers, and together they sat in silence, wondering what the next day would bring.

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><p>Upstairs, Piper and Gabby were feeling better. They walked the halls for a little bit, until Gabby tired out, so they both went back to their room. After Gabby was settled in bed, Piper perched on the side of the bed and smiled evilly. "I've got a <em>great <em>idea!"

Gabby leaned over, expectantly. "What? Tell me!"

Piper whispered to her quietly, so that if any nurse, doctor, or unsuspecting parent came in, they wouldn't know what was going on. As Gabby heard the plan, it took all the energy she had in her not to giggle over it.

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><p>After having coffee, Gil and Sara walked hand-in-hand back upstairs and down the hall to Gabby and Piper's room. Sara leaned in, whispering, "we won't talk about it in front of the girls, but when her parents are here this weekend, we will need to talk to them."<p>

Gil nodded. "Duly noted."

Up ahead, Sara spotted a quarter on the floor. Noticing closer, the quarter was facing her with 'heads' up. She bent down to grab it, but it slid away. "I had it," she said, trying again, but the quarter slipped away. She looked back at Gil, who had his hand over his mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud. "Okay, what's so funny?" she asked him, and that's when she heard it. Behind the door, two little girls, laughing wildly. But before her and Gil could get into the room, they'd jumped back onto Gabby's bed.

Gil bent down, picking up the evidence: a quarter that had a piece of clear string glued to it. He shook his head. "Where'd you guys learn to do this?"

Both girls sat there, looking innocent. "Do what?" Gabby asked, but her lips curled up almost all the way to her ears. Gabby and Piper looked at one another and, after that, they burst into laughter. Gil and Sara couldn't help but stand back, smiling at the two.

Here Gabby and Piper were, in the hospital and going through cancer treatments, and yet...they were still children. They'd grown considerably, but right now they were kids...just being kids. Sara looked up at Gil, and that's when the two of them couldn't help but getting in on the fun.

So for the rest of the day, they tricked anybody who darekd walked by the door...especially the doctors. They also came up with more pranks to try later. But at the end of the day, both girl's were tired and, after they each lay in their separate beds, drifted off to sleep in no time.

Sara and Gil looked at one another that night, silently conveying what each other was thinking: They were the luckiest parents in the world to have a daughter like Gabby...and they would be honored if Piper was able to join their family, even for just a short while.

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><p>And there's chapter 8! Again, sorry it's so short, but it's necessary.<p>

Next, the Grissom's meet Piper's family. What will her parent's say to Sara and Gil when they ask about fostering her for the time being? And also, what was that surprise that Catherine had in store for Gabby? All will be revealed in the next chapter—maybe even more, if I get some really great reviews (hint hint, nudge nudge)...hehe...


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